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5Y. Doctor Who - Kinda

Nyssa hasn't been feeling well, and is not able to concentrate. The Doctor sets up a delta wave augmenter in the TARDIS to help, using the sonic screwdriver to act as a delta waveform generator. While Nyssa sleeps the Doctor, Tegan and Adric are explore the planet Deva Loka, and find some wind chimes in a forest. As the Doctor plays with the wind chimes Tegan begins to feel drowsy, and falls asleep as the Doctor goes to find Adric.

Elsewhere in the forest Adric finds a robotic armoured suit, designed for a human, and controlled by the operator's mind. As the Doctor examines Adric close the suit's door, activating it. The suit immediately aims weapons at the Doctor and Adric, and starts to lead them back to its base. As they are led away they don't notice the Kinda find Tegan asleep by the wind chimes.

The suit takes the Doctor and Adric to a nearby survey team. Some of the team are missing, leaving only three behind. Hindle is concerned about the native Kinda posing a threat, but Todd reiterates that she does not believe the Kinda are a threat. Sanders, in charge of the team, agrees, and does not take Hindle's protest seriously. Even so, when the Doctor and Adric arrive both Sanders and Hindle meet them, and begin to question them about their colleague, Roberts. The Doctor tells them they know nothing about Roberts, and that the suit was empty when they found it.

The Doctor persuades the survey team to give him and Adric breakfast, and Todd tells the Doctor that the survey team used to be six people, but three have gone missing. Sanders tells the Doctor that the Kinda are peaceful, and smiled a lot - at least they did until they took some Kinda as hostages, part of the standard procedure. The Doctor asks to see them.

Sanders thinks the two captives are sulking, but the Doctor thinks it is more likely to be shock. He scalds Todd for taking the Kinda, saying that the shock could have a lasting effect on the primitive mind. Todd says she doesn't think they are primitive, and tells the Doctor to look at the item that all Kinda wear around their neck, which looks like a representation of the Double Helix. Todd tells the Doctor she thinks the Kinda may be telepathic.

In the forest Tegan is dreaming, and in her dream finds herself in complete darkness. As she walks around she finds two people playing a game. One of the people tells Tegan to go away as she cannot possibly exist, and the two people begin discussing both seeing the same illusion - Tegan. Tegan notices that both their arms bear a snake design. As Tegan runs she finds another figure - Dukkha - bearing the same snake pattern in his arm. Dukkha taunts Tegan, and introduces her to a second Tegan, followed by more illusions. Dukkha offers to remove the illusions if he can borrow Tegan's 'form'. Reluctantly she agrees, and the snake transfers from Dukkha's arm to hers. In the forest she wakes up.

In Todd's laboratory Hindle storms in to tell the Doctor and Todd that Sanders wants to see them. As they leave he becomes angry at Todd for breaking the rules and eating local fruit, and starts to smash up the laboratory. In the main base Sanders tells the Doctor and Todd he is going out into the forest and leaving Hindle in charge. The Doctor tells Sanders that Hindle is not stable, and may be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Nevertheless Sanders leaves, leaving Hindle in charge. As Sanders leaves Hindle raises a gun to the Doctor, Adric and Todd, and with the help of the two Kinda, now also armed, he places them under arrest.

With Sanders gone Hindle becomes more unstable. Hindle announces his intention to create a 'cordon sanitaire' around the dome, using fire and acid to burn and sterilise and area of 50 miles radius to defend against everything outside - trees, plants and spores. Hindle tells the Doctor he believes the Kinda are the servants of the plants, and it is the plants that are hostile.

In the forest Sanders meets an old woman, Panna, and a young woman, Karuna. Karuna holds out a box, and Sanders takes it from her. Sanders returns to the base, and hands the box to Hindle. Sanders tells Hindle to open the box, and he will understand everything. Hindle locks the Doctor, Sanders and Todd in a cell and orders the Doctor to open the box. When the box is opened the power starts to fail, including the electronic lock of the cell door. The Doctor, Sanders and Todd also have share an experience of seeing the world through the eyes of the Kinda, and of Panna and Karuna beckoning them. The Doctor and Todd manage to escape from the base before Hindle can seal it once power is restored.

In the forest Aris, the brother of one of the Kinda being held in the survey base, comes across Tegan, who is now under the influence of the Mara. Tegan tells Aris that she can help him launch an attack on the dome to free his brother. As they join hands the snake transfers from Tegan to Aris.

Lost in the forest the Doctor and Todd are met by a large group of Kinda. Through a jester and magic tricks the Doctor and Todd are welcomed, until Aris appears, and orders the Kinda, using a voice the males do not usually use, to sieze the Doctor and Todd. Karuna appears and tries to read Aris's mind, but he resists. The Kinda have a prophecy that one day one would walk among them with the gift of voice, and he should be obeyed. Before the Kinda can react Karuna leads the Doctor and Todd back to the wise woman's cave. Panna welcomes Todd, but is not sure about the Doctor. No man can open the box without going out if his mind, like Sanders. Unless he is an idiot.

With the Doctor and Todd gone Hindle orders Sanders to set up explosive charges so that in the event of an attack the dome could be destroyed. With the dome safe he and Sanders start to make a mock town inside the dome from old cardboard boxes.

As Panna is about to explain the prophecy to the Doctor and Todd Aris and the Kinda arrive at the cave. He now commands total obedience from the Kinda, and even from Karuna. Aris tells Panna that he plans to attack the dome.

The Doctor notices the mark on Aris's arm, and Panna tells him it is the mark of the Mara. It is a legend the Doctor has also heard. Panna helps the Doctor and Todd understand exactly what is happening, and what will happen, if Aris continues under the control of the Mara. The stress of showing the Doctor what is going to happen kills Panna, but her mind transfers to the body of Karuna.

From Karuna the Doctor learns that the Mara can only cross over from the dark places of the inside into the real world by the dreaming of an unshared mind. In this case through Tegan. Karuna takes the Doctor back to the chimes where she tells him that dreaming alone is forbidden. The Doctor wakes Tegan, and she tells him about the strange dreams she has been having.

Adric, who had played along with Hindle and been trusted by him, escapes from the dome and manages to find the Doctor. He tells him about Hindle, and that he has the dome wired up from destruction. The Doctor and Todd go back to the dome. They find Sanders sitting besides the town, the new capital city of S14 (Deva Loka). Sanders gives the Doctor a hint, and when he goes over to one of the boxes Hindle jumps out like a child. Hindle becomes enraged when the Doctor steps on a model person, and threatens to destroy the dome. Todd teases Hindle with the Kinda box. When Hindle opens the box his mind is cleared.

The Doctor is able to deactivate the explosives, and plans to drive the Mara from Aris. Using some solar panels the Doctor plans to trap Aris inside a ring of mirrors. Evil cannot stand to see itself, and inside a ring of mirrors it would see itself and also reflections, and would seek to escape.

Trapped in the ring of mirrors the Mara escapes from Aris and its true form, that of a huge snake, is revealed before dissipating.

Todd recommends that Deva Loka is not suitable for a full scale colonisation as planned.

Repeat showings

Locations

Outside Locations

Studios

Notes

Bloopers

Look very closely at the forest floors and you'll be able to see power cords. Apparently JNT saw this during production, and it was decided to just "buy" the shot and hope it looked like tree roots!

Episode 4: Watch out for the incredible bouncy snake.

Episode 4: In the circle-of-mirrors scene it is very clear that one of the mirrors is missing. (The one in the bottom-left corner of the high-angle shots). The cameras doing the ground-level shots had to have a wide enough area to shoot the action inside the circle.

Notes

Nyssa is absent from Parts Two and Three.

Episode 4: On the DVD release there is an option to replace the bouncy snake at the end of the episode with a new CGI effects snake.